Bob Costas to “Call Out” IOC Over Minute of Silence

1. Suicide bomber kills eight Israeli tourists in Bulgaria. Blame centers on the usual suspects: Iran, Hezbollah, and Syria. Coverage of the blast was similar across the board (Washington Post suffices.) And the Christian Science Monitor asks: Why in Bulgaria? And Reuters notes that Israel isn’t banging any war drums. The bombing took place on the 18th anniversary of the bombing of the Buenos Aires Jewish center.

2. Is Hezbollah’s Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah “more Palestinian than the Palestinians,” or simply out of step with the rest of the world? After Bashar’s defense minister and brother-in-law were killed, YNet reports that Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah called them “martyrs” who stood by the Palestinians. But AFP reports that Palestinian refugees are joining the rebels:

“Many of us — especially the youth — are in sympathy with the revolution, and now that the fighting is in Damascus, we cannot stay put,” a Palestinian from Yarmuk refugee camp, on the outskirts of the capital, told AFP.

“Many Palestinian youth have joined the FSA, and they are fighting side by side with the Syrian revolutionaries . . .”

Activists say the most support for the uprising comes from young Palestinians disaffected with traditional party factions.

Bob Costas

3. NBC sportscaster Bob Costas won’t be silent about the missing Olympic moment of silence. He told the Hollywood Reporter:

At the July 27 Opening Ceremony from London, Costas plans to call out the IOC for denying Israel’s request for a moment of silence acknowledging the massacre of 11 Israeli athletes and coaches at the 1972 Games. On the 40th anniversary of Munich, it’s a decision he finds “baffling.” When the Israeli delegation enters the 80,000-seat Olympic Stadium, Costas will stage his own protest: “I intend to note that the IOC denied the request,” he says, modulating his voice as if he were on the air. “Many people find that denial more than puzzling but insensitive. Here’s a minute of silence right now.”

Israel and the Palestinians

• The BBC Sport’s Olympic web site labels “East Jerusalem” as the capital of Palestine, while refusing to identify any capital city for Israel. An HonestReporting critique gives the Beeb a gold medal for delegitimizing Jewish ties to Jerusalem.

• Jerusalem Post: Khaled Mashaal and Mahmoud Abbas had getting-to-know-you meetings with Mohammed Mursi. The new Egyptian president is stuck with mediating Palestinian unity efforts. It’s a waste of time, but Mursi has to look active.